New 12 months’s Day dunk at DeLeon Springs gives contemporary begin, group enjoyable

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Many individuals welcomed the primary day of 2026 by plunging into the water at DeLeon Springs.

The golden steam rising from the 72-degree water within the 40-degree air created a picturesque scene, excellent for a dunk.

“I’ve been swimming in the springs for 70 years. So this is a way to jump in and get rid of the old and start the new,” Adia Pavia mentioned.

The Friends of DeLeon Springs State Park set up the dunk every year to assist individuals kick-start their 12 months.

“It’s definitely a good way to kind of reset your body,” mentioned Sharon Pinder, president of the Friends of DeLeon Springs State Park. ”You type of shock, shock it with the chilly air and anyway, individuals all the time have an excellent time.”

Beyond the dunk, the occasion included a pancake consuming contest, a hike and manatee watching, giving individuals an opportunity to attach with nature and one another.

“I think it’s such a good thing because I think so many people don’t know that this is like there are things that happen at the state parks and at the springs, like even at Blue Springs, like it’s such a good thing to come and do things like this and support our community,” Audrey Leiras informed News 6 after her dunk.

This 12 months’s dunk was additional particular due to a historic wheel contained in the Old Sugar Mill Pancake House. Park rangers and resident volunteers mounted it as much as flip for the primary time for the reason that Seventies.

“I was in the water, and she said the wheel was turning. I turned around. I’m like that hasn’t turned for a long time. It’s a beautiful thing to have it working,” Pavia mentioned.

If you need to begin off your new 12 months with a dip, you may all the time take a plunge at DeLeon Springs in 2027.

“If I’m 70 years old, and I can jump into this water, come on, let’s cleanse it out,” Pavia informed potential attendees.